/24-7PressRelease/ - LEHI, UT, May 17, 2008 - uPlej member roster includes Survivor China Winner Todd Herzog, basketball great Thurl Bailey, motivational speaker Les Brown, former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes and Osmond Second Generation members Nathan and David Osmond.
uPlej (www.uPlej.com) is a professional fund raising organization that combines social networking with charitable giving. The company recently launched its website, which lets members support charities simply by inviting others to join their uPlej network. This one-of-a-kind system removes many of the barriers that prevent individuals from giving to charity and is inclusive to users from any income level.
uPlej started with one individual's desire to do more. With the advent of social networking websites and the millions of people who actively participate in networks like MySpace and FaceBook, uPlej Founder Jeff Crane studied the power of this incredible phenomenon. Crane searched for a way to utilize his expertise as a web marketer to create a company that was aligned with his passion for charitable giving. Crane developed the uPlej model and began communicating with business associates to transition their plan into an active company.
The structure of uPlej is similar to many social networking sites in that it's growth is accelerated by members inviting others to join. Visitors to uPlej choose a charity they wish to support and pay a $4.99 a month fee. Members are given a unique uPlej web address and user page they can create to let people know about why they give to charity and the charities they support. They then invite people they know to view their user page and join their uPlej network.
uPlej members do not ask for donations or convince others to support a specific charity--they are simply asking people to join their network. And for every person who joins the member's uPlej network, the member's charity receives $1.00 per month, regardless of which charity the new member supports. This process continues and the member's charity receives $1.00 from everyone who joins their network through three degrees of separation.
The main beneficiaries of uPlej--public 501(c)(3) charities--have taken notice and are signing up for their own unique uPlej user pages. America's Freedom Festival, which produces the annual Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah, was one of the first charitable organizations to join, along with Ascend, A Humanitarian Alliance, Utah Valley Family Support and Treatment Center, Utah Symphony and Opera and One Heart. uPlej gives charities a tool to utilize social networking to reach existing and potential donors and create a consistent source of monthly income to meet their organization's goals.
Celebrities also realize the potential uPlej has to support charitable organizations. Todd Herzog, the winner of "Survivor China," is actively promoting uPlej to his fans and contacts in the media. Former basketball great Thurl "Big T" Bailey is utilizing the system to support his Big TLC Foundation. Renown motivational speaker Les Brown and former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes have also joined uPlej to support charity. And Osmond Second Generation members Nathan and David Osmond are continuing their family's legacy of charitable giving by building their own charitable giving networks with uPlej.
Those interested in learning more about uPlej and how social networking is used to raise funds for charity are invited to contact Jason Wight, or visit the company's website at http://www.uPlej.com.
About uPlej
*uPlej is pronounced "you pledge" and is spelled u-P-l-e-j.
*uPlej is a registered professional fund raising organization.
*The uPlej user fee is $4.99 a month. $4.00 of the user fee goes directly to charity, $.24 covers costs assessed by credit card companies, and $.75 goes to uPlej for web hosting, system development, operations, etc.
*Charities must be public 501(c)(3) organizations and recognized as IRS Publication 78 verified on GuideStar.com to be eligible to receive funds.
*uPlej solicits donations for One Heart, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. One Heart distributes 100% of the net funds it receives, without an additional transaction or handling fee, to various public charities as designated by the uPlej user base, so long as those public charities have a determination of public charity (not private foundation) status from the IRS.
CONTACT:
Jason Wight
VP, Marketing
uPlej
(801) 400-1105
jasonw@uPlej.com
http://www.uPlej.com
uPlej is a professional fund raising organization that combines social networking with charitable giving. For further information, please contact us at (801) 400.1105.
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